Gender positivity in sicilian preadolescents: gender differences in life skills, well-being, and coping strategies

Abstract

The aim of this study is focused on the analysis of gender differences in psychological well-being, self-efficacy in life skills, and coping strategies in a sample of 550 Sicilian preadolescents between 11 and 14 years old (264 boys and 286 girls). Measures: 1) Comprehensive Inventory of Thriving (Andolfi et al., 2017) to examine the dimensions of psychological well-being; 2) Self-Efficacy in Life Skills Scales (Sagone & Indiana, 2017) to analyze problem solving ability, interpersonal and social communication ability, and managing of positive and negative emotions; 3) Children’s Coping Strategies Checklist (Camisasca et al., 2012) to study the coping. Results indicated significant differences for gender in the following dimensions: boys show higher levels of psychological well-being than girls, reporting high sense of belonging (t=2.620, p=.009) and optimism (t=2.761, p=.006) and being more satisfied with their life (t=2.340, p=.020); further, boys express negative emotions more than girls (t=4.081, p<.001) while girls report higher loneliness than boys (t=-3.108, p=.002). In relation to self-efficacy in life skills, boys perceive themselves highly efficient in managing of negative emotions (t=3.766, p<.001), while girls consider themselves highly efficient in interpersonal and social communication (t=-3.208, p=.001). Lastly, with reference to coping strategies, boys avoid critical situations trying to suppress them (t=3.716, p<.001), while girls think that things will improve in the end (t=-2.369, p=.018). Future research will deep the relationships among the analyzed topics in groups of adolescents of high schools and young adults.